The light blue pills, which have been linked to the death of another teenager, are thought to be widespread in Sydney, Australia

A deadly batch of pills stamped with a Batman logo and sold as a form of ecstasy has left five teenagers needing hospital treatment.

Police have issued a warning about the light blue tablets, dubbed Blue Batman, after a party in Sydney last weekend.

They say the tablets, which have previously been linked with the death of another teenager, contain dangerous levels of 25c-NBOMe, a synthetic LSD-type substance which can cause psychotic behaviour.

And a drug squad commander said there have been a number of cases in Australia and overseas in which people affected by the drug had died.

Detective Superintendent Tony Cooke said: "We are aware of the Blue Batman pills and, in particular, a number of bad reactions users had after taking them last weekend.

"In fact similar pills recently seized by police contained the drug 25c-NBOMe, one of the so called new psychoactive substances recently outlawed. A closely related substance was involved in the death of a young man in Sydney last year."

He said people were putting their lives at risk every time they take illicit drugs.

In January, a 'bad batch' of ecstasy pills, including Blue Batman, left 21 people in hospital in Perth, and prompted police warnings.